Author: Paul

Upcoming Event in Warrenton

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Looking for an event to add to your April calendar? Consider attending the Warrenton Wine and Arts Festival. The event takes place on the campus of St. John Evangelist School on Saturday April 25th noon to 6:00 pm and Sunday April 26th noon to 5:00 pm.

Several Virginia wineries will be attending the festival including Barboursville, Delfosse, Pearmund, Tarara, and many others. There will be local artists and photographers attending the festival as well as antique dealers, musicians, and authors.

Tickets can be purchased ahead of time for $20.00 and at the gate for $25.00. Designated driver tickets are available for $10.00. Proceeds from the festival will benefit St. John Evangelist School, Church, and Knights of Columbus.

We will be attending the event and of course we’ll be writing about our experiences at the event. Look for us there!

Mark your calendars and get your tickets now!

Cabernet Vertical Tasting at Gray Ghost

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Last night we went to the Cabernet Sauvignon tasting at Gray Ghost Vineyards. We were able to taste the ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, and the ’04 cabs. It was great to taste cabs from the 20th and 21st centuries. At the end of the elegant evening we were all treated to a glass of the award winning 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with richly decadent brownies and strawberries. And our favorites of the wines poured? We both placed gold stars next to the 1998 and 2002 cabernets. Here’s a pictoral of the evening:

Al and Cheryl Kellert at the beginning of the event.

The table setting.

Al pouring the second flight of wines.

Our table during the event.

Another view of our table at the event.

The empty bottles from the event.

The wine library at Gray Ghost.

Warren admiring the wine library.

Paul’s Weekend Review

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So I forgot to post Paul’s review of the 2006 Doukenie Merlot which he enjoyed this past Friday evening. In fact, Paul declared it his favorite Merlot of the year, and we’re only in March! Anyway, I trust Paul’s instincts on Merlot. Paul opened this one at least 30 minutes before he poured it, and even then it needed a good swirl. Once the wine began to “open up”, Paul noted a nose of dark fruits and lavender wood. In the mouth, Paul enjoyed darker berries such as black berries and black cherries with licorice at the end; he also found the tannins to be “silky”. Over the course of the evening, we shared the 2006 Doukenie Merlot over Gruyere cheese and baguette and later with sliced beef tenderloin.

Interested in trying the 2006 Doukenie Merlot? Visit the winery located in Loudoun County, and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you. In the meantime, our next post will feature two other winery visits from this past weekend: Miracle Valley Vineyards, and Three Fox Vineyards. Stay tuned!

Wine Review

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Believe it or not, we don’t always drink Virginia wines. From time to time other wines make it into our glasses. This past weekend we visited friends of ours and they were serving an Echelon Merlot. I got the video camera out and decided to do a little wine review.

Cutter & Buck American Classic Wine Set

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We received a Cutter & Buck American Classic wine set from Forte Promotions and thought we’d review the products. In the set you get a classic waiter’s corkscrew, a drip ring, and a wine pourer. We chose to open a bottle of Woodland Vineyards Merlot with the set and record the opening for others to see. Other wine accessories from Forte Promotions can be found here.

All the products were of high quality steel and came in a decorative leather topped case. We started with the foil cutter part of the wine opener. The foil cutter does not have a serrated edge so be careful when cutting the foil. A serrated edge would make the foil removal easier. The corkscrew worked as expected. It opened the bottle without issue and the grip was very comfortable. The drip ring slid over the top of the bottle smoothly. The wine pourer fit snugly in the bottle but we must report that when pulling the wine pourer out, the rubber casket came off the pourer and stayed in the bottle. We had no problem getting it out of the bottle though. Overall it’s a nice product and works as expected. The packaging is very attractive and would make a nice gift.

Holiday Open House at Gray Ghost

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Last weekend we went to the Holiday Open House at Gray Ghost. This is a yearly event so if you missed it this year, you can attend next year. We got to taste their current wines, enjoy some delicious food, and guess how many corks it took to create the rocking horse. If you guess correctly, you win a special wine package. We won’t know if we won for a few weeks. Here’s a few pictures from the event.

Edible Chesapeake Fall 2008

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The Fall issue of Edible Chesapeake is currently available at your local Whole Foods market, and be sure to pick up a copy. Our latest article for Liquid Assets is an article about fruit wines produced from Virginia wineries. We focused on winemakers who use fruit grown in Virginia either estate grown or from other farms in the area. As always, it was educational and rewarding to be able to chat with winemakers about winemaking and this time about fruit wines. Fruit wines seem to belong in a time gone by when everyone’s grandma made hooch from fruit grown in the backyard. However, making fruit wine is serious business, and Virginia winemakers are producing premium fruit wines that could grace any dinner party.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Edible Chesapeake and visit Virginia wineries that make fruit wines. After all, it is Virginia wine month. Of course, mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!